Jack Worthing creates a fictitious brother Earnest who lives in London to escape his dull country routine, but finds the lie backfiring when he falls in love.
Presents Irish author Oscar Wilde's long letter to his lover Lord Alfred Douglas, written in Reading Gaol prison; and includes a preface by Richard Ellmann and commentary by W. H. Auden.
An exquisitely beautiful young man in Victorian England retains his youthful and innocent appearance over the years while his portrait reflects both his age and evil soul as he pursues a life of decadence and corruption. Illustrated sidebar notes provide historical background to the text.